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K^opy 1 




EAST TENNESSEE: 



ITS 



AGRICULTURAL 



AND 



MINERAL RESOURCES 



HY 



JOHN OA.Lr)W^ELL, 

OF KNOXVILLE. 




|ork : 

JOHN W. Alk^ERMAN, PRINTER, 
No. 47 Cedar Street. 

1867. 




EAST TENNESSEE: 



ITS 



AGRICULTURAL 



AND 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 




JOHN OA-LDW^ELL, 

OF KNOXYILLE. 



JkS 



-^ 



??-' 




JOHN W. AMERMAN, PRINTER, 
No. 47 Cedar Street. 



">.■ 



1867. 



1 ^-A^r 

A 



EAST TENNESSEE: 

ITS AGRICULTURAL AND MINERAL RESOURCES. 



East Tennessee, wliicli is sometimes called the " Swit- 
zerland of America," is situated between 35 and 3(''|- degrees 
north latitude. TJic Alleghany Mountains, which divide it 
from North Carolina, are about 0,000 feet above the level of 
the sea. The " Cumberland" Mountains, which separate 
Kentucky from Yirginia, extend nearly across^ the State, 
and separate "Middle" from "East Tennessee." This 
latter range is not as high as the Alleghanies, but is about 
3,000 feet above the sea. The valley between these two 
ranges of mountains is about 50 miles wide. The country 
in this valley is rolling, with some hills. The soil is very 
fertile, producing large crops of corn, wheat and small grain. 
The grasses are very luxuriant, affording the finest grazing 
on the continent. The altitude of the valley is about 2,000 
feet above the sea ; consequently the climate is temperate, 
while, at the same time, there are only about three months 
of the year of what may be called " winter weather." 
Farmers commence ploughing about the middle of Feb- 
ruary. The whole valley is under a very good state of 
cultivation, through its entire length of about 200 miles. 
Knoxville, the principal town of East Tennessee, contains a 
population of about 10,000 inhabitants ; and wdien it becomes 
(as it must very soon) a manufacturing city, (from the vast 
amount of rich iron ore and inexhaustible beds of coal in its 
immediate vicinity,) there is no reason why it cannot sustain 
a population of 100,000 or more. 



East Tennessee was first settled alDout the year 1790 ; so 
it is what is known as an " old-settled coiintry^'' many of the 
farms having been nnder cnltivation for over seventy-five 
years. One great reason why so little is known abont this 
country in the Northern States is, that the only connnu- 
nication with it, nntil about the year 1856, (when the East 
Tennessee and Virginia Rail-Road was completed,) was by 
wagon roads over the mountains. From the commencement 
of the war, until 1865, (to wit, four years,) the country was 
entirely shut out from all intercourse with the North ; so, in 
point of fact, there were only some five years M'hen persons 
could reach it with any reasonable degree of facility. 

Agricultural, 

The soil of East Tennessee, on the uplands, is a gravelly 
limestone loam, well adapted for raising all kinds of grain. 
The timber is oak, hickory and chestnut, with some poplar. 
The soil in the immediate valleys of the streams is a black, 
rich alluvial deposit, particularly adapted for grass. The 
whole country is traversed with small mountain streams and 
spring brooks, which find their way into the principal rivers 
of that part of the country, viz., the Clinch, Holsten and 
Little Tennessee — the three united forming the Tennessee 
River proper. There is no part of the United States where 
the farmer can with more certainty look for good crops than 
in East Tennessee. It is also particularly adapted to raising 
cattle, horses and sheep. From Bristol, on the line between 
Tennessee and Virginia, to Chattanooga, on the line of the 
East Tennessee and Virginia Rail-Road, it is one expanse of 
well-cultivated farms, as far as the eye can see, on either side 
of the road. 

Rail-Roads. 

The "East Tennessee and Virginia Rail-Road" traverses 
the country, from northeast to southwest, from the line of 
Virginia to Chattanooga, (near the boundary of Alabama,) 
a distance of 230 miles. This road passes through Knoxville, 



and toiiclies at nearly all the important towns in this part of 
the State. The Knoxville and Ohio Eiver Rail-Eoad is in 
process of construction, and is expected to be completed 
some time in the year 18GS. When this line is completed, 
Knoxville will be within eight hours (by rail) of Cincinnati. 
Another rail-road is projected, and a portion of it under • 
contract, to connect Knoxville with the South Carolina 
system of rail-roads. When this line is completed, Charleston 
and Knoxville will be next-door neighbors. It will thus be 
seen, when this Charleston and Cincinnati line is completed, 
the City of Knoxville will occupy one of the most important 
business centres in the interior of the continent, having the 
choice of markets for her products, North, South, East or 
West. 

Coal and Iron, 

The bituminous coal deposits of this portion of the 
Alleghany Mountains is the same, and on quite as extended 
a scale as those found in Western Pennsylvania or Western 
Yirginia. To say that the quantity is boundless, and the 
quality is equal to any found on the continent, is simply 
stating what every one must know, who has any knowledge 
whatever of the geology of the western slope of that range of 
mountains. 

The various kinds of iron ore (to wit, " specular," 
"magnetic" and brown hematite) are found in profuse 
abundance all through the hills and mountains, the par- 
ticular present value of which, and the coal, depend on their 
proximity to rail or water communication. 

The richness of the iron ore is only equalled by the 
celebrated mines on Lake Superior, in the State of Michigan. 
East Tennessee, however, will have this great advantage 
over Northern Michigan, in the production of iron. While 
the latter is situated in latitude 47 north, where winter 
reigns six months in the year, and wdiere every conceivable 
thing for the use of civilized man, and for beast, has to be 
transported many hundred miles, the former country pro- 
duces, side hy side with her coal and iron fields, every 



article required for tliem, at a very low price, and in 
superabundant quantities ; the result of Avliicli must be, 
that iron can be produced in East Tennessee at considerably 
less than one-half what it costs to make it on Lake 
Superior. 

Copper and Zinc Mines. 

The Smoky Mountains, which divide Tennessee from 
l^orth Carolina^ have been found to contain copper, zinc 
and lead in large quantities. 

The copper smelting works at " Ducktown," which is 
situated at the southeast angle of the State, near the Georgia 
line, are producing large quantities of ingot copper, from 
black oxyde and yellow sulphuret ores found at that point. 
Similar copper ores have been found in large quantities in 
the same range of mountains in the northeastern part of the 
State, 

Wherever these ores have, been found in reasonable prox- 
imity to rail-road or water communication, copper can be 
produced and delivered on the cars at a cost of 16 cents 
per pound at the present high prices of labor and provisions. 
When the time shall arrive that work can be done at anti- 
war rates, it is believed that these mines, with improved 
machinery and methods of working the ores, will furnish 
copper at 8 cents or 10 cents per pound. 

When it is considered that the present cost of producing 
ingot copper on Lake Superior is from 24: to 28 cents per 
pound, and that it barely gives a new dollar for an old one 
when it is sold in the ISTeAV-York market at 30 cents, it is 
conclusive that there can be no comparison as to the relative 
value of the Lake Superior and Tennessee mining districts, 
so far as a profitable return for the capital invested is con- 
cerned. It is believed that all that is wanted to develop 
these Tennessee copper mines is for northern capitalists to 
be thoroughly acquainted Avith the facts respecting them. 

Zinc is found in many localities in the State. Parties are 
now engaged in erecting extensive works for its manufacture 



near " Mossy Creek." Tlie ore is rich and exists in large 
quantities. There is no doubt but zinc will be produced at 
paying rates on account of the low price of labor and provi- 
sions. I'Tear the town of Greenville, which is on the line of 
the East Tennessee and Virginia Rail-Road, a pig iron is 
produced which so nearly resembles the celebrated " Frank- 
liuite iron," of !N"ew-Jersey, as to be counted one and the 
same thing. This, like the " Franklinite," is caused by the 
large quantity of zinc and manganese combined with the 
iron in the ore. 



SPECIAL IRON AND COPPER PROPERTIES FOR SALE. 



The " Caldwell Iron Mines." 

These mines are located about three and a half miles from 
the " French Broad," a navigable tributary of the Ilolsten 
River, some 20 miles from Knoxville, and about five miles 
from the railway station at " Strawberry Plains," " Sjyecu- 
Iclt''' iron ore, yielding about 70 per cent, metallic iron, exists 
in a succession of hills or knobs, which run parallel with the 
French Broad River for about four miles. The vein of this 
ore is about 50 feet wide, and crops out of the hills through 
their entire length. It will only be necessary to quarry it, 
as the quantity above the level of the adjacent country is 
sufficient to supply any reasonable demand for many years. 
About a half a mile distant, and to the northwest of this vein, 
is a vast deposit of " brown hematite" ore, which many iron 
masters require to mix with the " specular," to make certain 
kinds of iron. There is sufficient wood in the vicinity of this 
mine to run one charcoal furnace for several years. There 
is no bituminous coal in the immediate vicinity of the mine. 
There are, however, extensive coal banks on the line of the 
rail-road a few miles to the north of Knoxville. This coal 



8 

can be brought to Knoxville at a low price and made into 
coke. The iron ore can be transported from the " Caldwell 
Mine," by water, to Knoxville, there to meet the coke, by 
which means a most superior article of " coke iron" can be 
made at a very small cost. "With this iron mine and the coal 
banks so near, there is no reason why Knoxville may not be 
made one of the most important iron centres in the country. 

The " Embreeville Iron Property." 

This property consists of between 40,000 and 50,000 acres 
of land, lying in the County of Washington, some eight miles 
south of " Jonesboro'." The " ^olichucky" Eiver, a branch 
of the French Broad, about 120 yards wide, runs through 
the entire property. It is a mountain stream, furnishing an 
unlimited amount of water-power. The " Embreeville Iron 
"Works" were built some 30 years ago, at a point where the 
river debouches from the hills. The water power, as im- 
proved, is as perfect as could be asked for ; not subject to 
damage from floods, and giving some 13 feet fall of the whole 
stream, if required. 

The works consist of — • 

One blast furnace, 25 feet high. 

One small rolling mill for making nail plate. 

One breaking mill and one forge hammer. 

Five refining charcoal fires. 

Five nail machines, capable of making one ton nails per day. 

One small saw mill. 

One small grist mill. 

One large brick dwelling-house. 

Two managers' houses and boarding-house, with several 
small dwellings for the laborers. 

One small church. 

One school-house, and the necessary stables. 

Store house, ofiice, coal houses, &c. 

250 acres of river bottom land are under good cultivation, 
and also from 500 to 700 acres in small parcels on the pre- 
mises where the laborers have their houses, are also under 
cultivation. 



The works were not in operation during the war, conse- 
qnentlj they are very much out of repair at present. It is 
estimated that ten to fifteen thousand dollars will put them 
in good order to make at least eight tons of pig iron per day. 
The wood land is well covered with oak, hickory and chest- 
nut timber. There is within 4J miles of the works sufficient 
wood to supply three charcoal furnaces, which will make 
9,000 tons of iron annually, for ten years ; and by hauling six 
miles the supply would last many years longer. There are 
numerous small streams runnino- through the land which 
empty into the Nolichucky River. On the " bottoms," 
adjoining these streams, the land is excellent for farming 
purposes. It is estimated that there are at least 6,000 acres 
of good arable land on the premises. The sides of the hills, 
in most cases, are too abrupt for profitable cultivation. 

The population of "Washington County, where this pro- 
perty is situated, in 1860, was 13,877. Provisions and 
forage can be procured at very low prices. 

The iron ore banks, of which there are many, are located on 
the river some three miles above the works. The ore is a 
" brown hematite," and exists in exhaustless quantities. It 
is transported from the bank to the works by water, at a 
net cost for mining and freight of forty cents per ton. One 
ton and three-quarters are required to make one ton of 
iron. 

Charcoal is made and delivered in the coal houses at the 
furnace for four cents per bushel. There is a large lime- 
stone quarry near the furnace for flux. A very fair quality of 
" fire clay " is found also near by on the premises. A sand- 
stone, which withstands the heat well, is also found near 
the furnace ; this is now used for the hearth of the furnace. 

Pig iron can be made at this place, and delivered on the 
cars at Jonesboro'. at %\^ jper ton, and the freight from that 
point to Richmond cannot exceed $10 per ton. 

There is every reason to believe that copper ore, such as 
is found in other parts of the " Smoky Mountains," will also 
be found on this property, as the southeastern line of the pro- 
perty extends to the summit of that range of mountains, and 



10 

all the copper found in tliem thus far to the right and left of 
this point, has been on their western slope. 

The copper ores at " Ducktown," on this vein, are smelted 
with wood or charcoal ; if, therefore, the copper should be 
found on this property, there will be no want of fuel to 
smelt it. 

The title to the property is free and unincumbered. It is 
believed there is no locality in the United States where char- 
coal pig iron of any quality can be made at so low a cost 
by one-half, as at this point. When the superior quality of the 
Tennessee iron is considered, it would seem as though the in- 
ducement for capitalists to put the means and skill at work 
to develop it, commensurate with its merits, and the demand 
for that kind of iron, (every ton of which that can be made 
in the United States, and probably more, too, will be re- 
quired for the one article of rail-road car wheels for our 
40,000 miles of rail-road, to say nothing about the large 
quantity required for malleable castings, steel and other 
speciiic uses, where that kind of iron is required,) can scarcely 
be estimated. 

The field for producing charcoal iron in this country is 
becoming very much circumscribed. I^ew-England, ISTorth- 
ern New-York, Pennsylvania and Maryland are fast becom- 
ing stripped of their wood ; Ohio is the same ; so that the 
day is not far distant, when the country must look to IS^orth- 
ern Michigan, East Tennessee and Southeastern Virginia for 
its charcoal iron. 

The " Early Copper Mines." 

These mines are situated about 25 miles southeast of 
Wytheviile, which is on the line of the Yirginia and East Ten- 
nessee Kail-Road, in the southwestern part of Yirginia. There 
is a good turnpike road from Wytheviile to the mines. 
The railway station at "Mac's Meadows" is only 17 miles 
from them. 

This property consists of some 4,000 acres of land, about 
600 of which are under good improvement for grass and 



11 

grain, with a good farm house, barns, &c. There is also a 
small water grist mill on the premises. 

There are two large copper veins on this property, run- 
ning northeast and southwest across it. They carry " black 
oxyde" and "yellow sulphuret of copper," and range from 
30 to 50 feet in width. Mining was commenced on it some 
time before the comm_enccment of the war by sinking shafts 
and running levels into the mines. Quite large quantities of 
the ore were sold in Baltimore at that time. The owners, 
however, knowing that the ore could be smelted on the 
ground at a small cost, and thus save the expense of trans- 
porting the refuse material combined with the copper, made 
a contract with parties to erect smelting works adjacent to 
the mines ; which works were completed and considerable 
quantity of copper had been produced, when the war broke 
out and suspended all operations. About 1,000 tons of rich 
ore was mined at that time and ready to work ; but as the 
parties were principally all Union men, they had to abandon 
their mines and works, and make the best of their way out 
of the country. 

With the exception of their mined ore (wliich had been 
carried away) the owners found their property at the conclu- 
sion of the war (ordinary damage from the weather excepted) 
in about the same condition as w^hen they left it. 

The ore in these mines will yield about 15 per cent, of 
ingot copper, which can be produced and delivered on the 
rail-road at Mac's Meadows at a cost of 16 cents per pound. 
The amount of copper that can be made will only be limited 
by the extent of tlie smelting works and the number of miners 
emplo^^ed to work the mines, for the quantity of ore is be- 
lieved to be inexhaustible. 

Provisions and all kind^^ of domestic supplies, required at 
•the mines, can be raised on the farm above mentioned, or 
can be procured from the adjacent country at low prices. 
The rail transportation from Mac's Meadows to Lyuchburgh 
is 160 miles. From Lynchburgh to Eichmond freight is car- 
ried by canal at a cost of $1 75 per ton. The remainder of 
the 4,U00 acres of land is covered with a heavy growth of 



12 

timber, sufficient to supply smelting works for many years to 
come. This property is for sale at a price ■which cannot fail 
to make a large fortune for parties who may furnish the 
capital to work it. The only reason why it is ofi'ered for sale 
is the lack of the necessary capital on the part of the present 
owners to develope it. 

The " Ore Knob Copper Mine." 

This mine is located about 40 miles south of " Seven Mile 
Ford" Railway Station of the Yirginia and East Tennessee 
Eail-Road, in the northeastern corner of the State of North 
Carolina. The mine was worked for its ore to some consid- 
erable extent before the war, at which time about 150 gross 
tons of black oxyde of copper were sent to the smelting 
works at Baltimore. 

From the account of sales as rendered, it appears that 

124: boxes yielded 18 70-100 per cent. 

40 " " 23 20-100 " 

87 " " 19 25-100 " 

70 " " 18 20-100 " 

439 " " 17 50-100 " 

This vein of black oxyde is about 10 feet thick, as it lays 
horizontally in the hill, and is 12 feet wide. The vein is 
about half a mile long. One hundred feet of it will yield 
over one thousand tons of copper ore ; at the average of 19 
37-100 per cent., as shown above, will give 19,370 pounds of 
ingot copper. The whole mine at that rate will give 
pounds of ingot copj^er. 

Geologists, who have examined the mine, say that by sink- 
ing through the " mundick" formation, (so called,) which 
underlies the black oxyde, " yellow sulphuret" of copper will 
be found. From the out-croppings and indications the 
" mundick" rock cannot be over 50 to 60 feet thick. With- 
out mining more than the " black oxyde," as shown above, 
it is very clear that this property is of immense value. 

The cost of erecting smelting works is about |30,000. 



13 

Extract from the report of Dr. Trippel and Dr. Credner 
to the American Bureau of Mines on the Economical Work- 
ing of the East Tennessee Copper Mine, near Duektown. 
Statement No. 1 is the result of smelting the ore without 
dressing, while Statement No. 2 shows the result after the 
ores are dressed. The monthly product is 800 tons of ore. 

Statement No. 1. 

" Mining expenses for 800 tons 10 per cent. ore,.. . $8,000 
" Smelting expenses, (170,200 lbs. of copper,) at 9 

cents, 16,1 28 

" Freight and general expenses, 3 cents per lb.,. . • 5,376 

" Total expenses, 16 4-lOc. per lb. of copper,. . . . $29,504 
" Yalue of 179,200 lbs. of copper, at ' 30c., 53,760 

" JSTet monthly profit, $21,256 

Statement No. 2. 

" Mining expenses for 800 tons, $8,000 

" Dressing the ore up to 15 per cent., 1,500 

" Smelting expenses, (6^ cents per lb.,) 11,618 

" Freight and general expenses, 3 cents per lb.,. . . 5,376 

" Total expenses, 11 8-lOc. per lb. of copper, . . . $26,521 
" Yalue of 179,200 lbs. copper, at 30 cents, 53,760 

" JSTet monthly profit, $27,236 

" These figures exhibit an annual profit from the mining 
" and smelting works of $326,832." 

In preparing the foregoing narrative respecting East Ten- 
nessee, &c., I have endeavored to state simply the facts with 
regard to that country, and I think a personal examination 
will show that I have done so. 

I have the aforementioned iron and copper properties for 
sale, and shall be happy to confer with any parties who may 



u 

wish to purchase, or who may wish to unite their capital and 
skill in developing them, at my residence in Knoxville. In 
the meantime I have appointed Mr. C. A, Trowbridge, at 48 
Pine-street, New- York, my agent, who will give any infor- 
mation respecting them. 

John Caldwell. 



Howard House, JVeio-YorIc, Feh'iim'y 2167!, 18C7. 
Dr. Alex. Teippel, 

31ining Engineer and Metallurgist^ 

1 8 JExchange Place, New- Yorh City : 
Dear Sir ; 

It is now some years since yon and I were working to- 
gether to develope the copper mines at " Ducktown," in 
East Tennessee, onr operations being interrupted by the 
war, which broke out in 1861. Since the conclusion of the 
war, which released us Cnion men from the tyrannic grip of 
Jeflerson Davis & Co., I have been re-examining our great 
copper and iron region in East Tennessee with particular 
care, with the view of letting tlie capitalists and business 
men of the Korth know what we have, and the inducements 
for them to bring their capital and skill to bear in develop- 
ing it. 

As you had personal charge of the " Ducktown Copper 
"Works" for several years before the war, and are quite well 
posted on the mineral resources of East Tennessee, I take the 
liberty of submitting for your examination a paper I have 
prepared on that subject. 

If you iind my statements in the main correct, so far as 
your personal knowledge goes, I will feel obliged if you will 
address me a note to that effect, as I propose to publish what 
I have said in a pamphlet form for circulation. 

I ask this favor, as I am comparatively a stranger in the 
North, in order that the public may know that I am only 
stating the facts with regard to my country. 
Your obedient servant, 

John Caldwell, 
of Knoxville, East Tennessee. 



15 

New-Yorlt, March 1, 1867, 
18 ExcuANGE Place. 
Hon. J. Caldwell : 

Dear Sir, — I have read with much interest your able de- 
scription of several mining districts in East Tennessee and 
Virginia, and, having had ample opportunit}" to examine 
and study some of the most important mines in these States, 
it affords me great pleasure to' see that since the termination 
of the war you liave renewed your efforts to bring to public 
notice these sources of mineral wealth. 

As you have been one of the first pioneers in the discovery 
of the well-known Ducktown Mines, and devoted many 
years to the praiseworthy task of developing the agricultural 
and mineral resources of your State, I feel very happy to aid 
your efforts in any way possible, and to corroborate your fair 
statements with regard to these mining districts. 

Your remarks about the Carroll County (Ya.) Copper 
Mines, and the Ore Knob Mines in Xorth Carolina, are 
especially interesting. The first one I visited several years 
ago, and have since heard reports from friends visiting the 
place, which all agree in the most favorable judgment of 
these mines, which promise a profitable investment for capi- 
tal, especially when a part of the ore is treated by the more 
recently adopted plan of humid extraction. Tlie superiority 
of the East Tennessee iron ores for good iron, and the facili- 
ties for mining operations, is well known, and do not need 
any recommendations from my pen. I think, that without 
the interference of the late war, these mines would now be 
in the most prosperous condition. 

Having had the pleasure of your acquaintance for many 
years past, and being aware of the high esteem in which your 
long and useful life stands amongst your fellow citizens, I do 
not hesitate to recommend your statements of facts as 
thoroughly reliable and correct. 

1 remain, dear sir, 

Kespectfully yours, 

Alkx. Tkippel, 
Chemist and MetalluTgist. 



16 

HowAED House, 
Wew-Torh, February 21, 1867. 
My Deak Sm: 

From an acquaintance of many years with you in connec- 
tion with the mining districts of Tennessee, I take the liberty 
of sending you the manuscript copy of a paper I have pre- 
pared on " East Tennessee — its agricultural and mineral re- 
sources," for your examination. 

As I propose publishing the paper in pamphlet form in 
order to let the northern public know what we have in East 
Tennessee, and as I am somewhat of a stranger in this part 
of the country, I will feel obliged if you will address me a 
note, giving your opinion on the statements made in my pa- 
per, as well as your own views respecting our Tennessee 
country and its minerals. 

I am, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

John Caldwell. 
EuG. Gatjssoin, Esq., Mining Engineer^ 

39 North Broadway^ Baltimore, lid. 



New-Yoek, February 21th, 1867. 
Hon. John Caldwell : 

Dear Sir, — I have read with due attention your paper on 
East Tennessee and its mineral resources. 

When I had the honor to make your acquaintance about 
fourteen years ago, you were already engaged in the develop- 
ment of the mining districts that you bring again to-day to 
the public notice. It was my good fortune on many occa- 
sions, at Ducktown,in East Tennessee, in Alabama, Georgia, 
North Carolina and Virginia, to second, by my professional 
services, your energetic labors, which had made your name 
conspicuous in that extensive field of operations. 

After six years of interruption by the calamities of civil war, 
you are resuming your work, in which I would most willingly 
second you again, if there was any need of my endorsement 



for your concise and fair exposition of facts, sufficiently sub- 
stantiated by the bigh authority of your experience, and 
your integrity of character and purpose. 

You know that, from personal examination, my views en-_ 
tirely concur with yours on several of the properties that 
you have described. 

The latest improvements in the manufacture of steel, 
which are daily increasing the demand for that article, and 
mainly the introduction of steel rails in the building of rail- 
roads, will, at an early day, attract attention to the quality 
of the iron of East Tennessee, and properties like the Cald- 
well and Embreeville cannot fail to reward largely the capital 
and labor that you are inviting, by the prospects of legiti- 
mate profits. 

The mining district of Carroll County, in Yirginia, so 
remarkable by the magnificent outcrops of its copper veins, 
is also worth all the attention that you claim for it. The 
mines that you particularly describe, on the Early and 
Dalton leads, have been already worked sufficiently to show 
that those extensive lodes are not mere surface impregnations 
or masses, but will be lasting in depth. 

The Ore Knob mine, in Ash County, N'orth Carolina, be- 
longs to the same copper-bearing formation, and will, like 
the Carroll and Ducktown mines, become a source of mineral 
wealth, under intelligent management, having for its sole 
purpose the development of their intrinsic value. 
I remain, dear sir, 

Tour devoted servant, 

EuG. Gaussoin, M. K 



Howard House, 
New- York, February 21, 1867. 
C. A. Trowbridge, Esq., 

48 Pine-street, New- Yorh : 
Dear Sir, — I herewith submit for your examination a paper 
I have prepared on the agricultural and mineral resources of 

2 



^•Am^ 



18 

East Tennessee. As I liad the pleasure of meeting you at 
Enoxville a short time since, and subsequently travelling 
"with yon over qnite a large portion of that conntry, more 
particularly among the iron and copper mines, and as I de- 
sire the [Northern public may become as well informed as 
possible respecting our countr}^, I will feel obliged if you 
will examine my paper, and let me know your views as to the 
statements therein contained, so far as your personal know- 
ledge extends. 

Your obedient servant, 

John Caldwell, 
Of Knoxville, East Tennessee. 



Office of the Collins Ieon Company, 
48 Pine-street, We%o-Yoi% Fel. 21, 1867. 
Hon. John Caldwell : 

Dear Sir, — I have read your paper on " East Tennessee ; 
its Agricultural and Mineral Resources." 

I visited East Tennessee for the first time about the middle 
of last month, and remained there, as you will recollect,. 
Bome three weeks, traversing the State with you on horse- 
back most of that time. 

Tour paper gives (as far as a written account can) a cor- 
rect idea of that country ; but it is necessary for a stranger 
to see it himself, to get a full appreciation of its great natural 
resources. I must say, notwithstanding most vivid descrip- 
tions had been made to me respecting it, none of them had 
come up to my estimate of it after I had examined it, in the 
superficial manner I only could do, in the short time I was 
there. 

As an agricultural region 1 know of no part of the United 
States that can equal it, when an iin])TOved system of cultiva- 
tion shall be applied to it. As a stock growing country, it 
can have no superior, particularly for sheep and cattle, on 
account of its temperate and healthy climate, with the supera- 
bundance of good water from its thousands of mountain 
streams, springs, brooks and rich soil. 



19 

Time would not permit me to visit the coal fields in the 
vicinity of Knoxville, or the copper works at " Ducktown." 
Gentlemen from the North, residing at Knoxville, of the 
highest respectability, assured me that coal (samples of which 
I saw, and found it equal to any bituminous coal on the 
continent) is found near that place, in layers from five to 
seven feet thick, and about one mile from the line of the rail- 
road. 

Keliable parties at Knoxville told me the copper works at 
Ducktown were being developed to an extent which it is 
estimated will pay the shareholders one thousand dollars per 
day net profit when the works are completed. 

I found, apparently, an inexhaustible quantity of specular 
and hematite iron ore at what are called the " Caldwell Iron 
Mines," near the French Broad Kiver. The ore so nearly 
resembles the " Lake Superior iron ore," that if I had seen it 
at Marquette I should have said it came from the mines near 
that place. I should think it would yield from 60 to 70 per 
cent, metallic iron. 

I was informed by one of the steamboat captains, who has 
been navio-atino; the Tennessee and Holsten rivers for some 
years, that boats can be run from Knoxville to near your 
mine. If that is the case, the ore can be taken to Knoxville 
at a small cost, where " coke iron," as you remark, can be 
made at very low price. 

I visited the Embreeville iron property, near Jonesboro'. 
This I regard as one of the finest iron properties I ever saw. 
With the abundant water-power — the quantity of iron ore, 
and low price at which it can be laid down at the furnace — 
the vast quantity of wood for making charcoal — the lime- 
stone so near by for flux — the " fire sand-stone" for furnace 
hearths — the passably good fire clay close at hand — the 
abundance of all kinds of provisions and forage, produced in 
the immediate vicinity by the large population you mention, 
as shown by the census of 1860, and the low price of common 
labcr, there is no question but that " charcoal iron" of a very 
superior quality can be made at an exceedingly low price. 
I should say that your estimate of the cost, (to wit, $15 per 



20 

ton, delivered on the cars at Jonesboro',) is quite within the 
limit. 

I also visited the " Early Copper Mines," in Southwestern 
Yirginia. I think your account of them is a plain statement 
of the facts, as far as I can judge from what I saw on the 
ground. I have no doubt whatever that a most lucrative 
business can be done in smelting copper from the ores of 
these mines. I had not time to visit the " Ore Knob Mine," 
near " 8even Mile Ford Station ;" but from a conversation 
with a gentleman in Knoxville, who, I have no doubt, is 
thoroughly posted respecting it, I should say it is a valuable 
property. My idea respecting those mines is simply this : 
If the Lake Superior copper mines, where winter reigns six 
months in the year, and which yield only 2| to 3 per cent, cop- 
per, can \iQ2Jrofital)ly worked^ in ordinary times, by transporting 
all the sujpjplies from Ohio and Lower Michigan, what cannot 
be done with these mines, which yield from 10 to 20 per cent, 
copper, with nearly every thing that is required to work 
them produced in their immediate vicinity ? It seems to me 
there can be but one answer to this proposition. 
Yours very truly, 

C. A. Teowbeidge. 



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